UAE Minister of Energy Confirms UAE's Commitment to Strengthen Its Role as Major Oil & Gas Producer

Doha, December 05 (QNA) - The UAE Minister of Energy Mohammed bin Dhaen Al Hamili, , has stressed UAE's commitment to maintain and strengthen its role as a major oil and gas producer, highlighting that oil will continue playing a prominent role in the global energy for many decades to come. Addressing a meeting held in Doha on Monday in the framework of the World Petroleum Congress (WPC) now in session, Al Hamili said, "Our commitment to widening diversification of our domestic energy and promotion of the renewable energy, does not mean we neglect the oil industry." He also noted that despite expectations that the contribution of oil share will fall from 34 per cent to 28 per cent, the demand will continue to reach over 109 million barrels per day in 2035. The UAE Minister of Energy said, "I would like to start by thanking the Government of the State of Qatar and the World Petroleum Council for inviting me to address this important global event. Today's theme, Energy Solutions from the Middle East, shows our region has become a generator and an exporter of ideas and solutions for global energy markets, in addition to being a regional energy production hub . Nowhere is this truer than in the UAE which in recent years has announced a wide range of energy initiatives that go beyond our traditional role as a leading oil and gas producer. The exceptionally fast pace of our economic development over the last few decades has given the UAE a unique perspective as both a major energy producer and a growing energy consumer. For example, our national annual peak demand for electricity is set to more than double by 2020 and demand for other forms of energy has been growing. Our growing population and fast-moving industrial developments have forced us to choose between continuing burning fossil fuels which would otherwise be exported and finding complementary energy solutions for use at home. We realized that by widening our domestic fuel mix, we could release more hydrocarbons for export. Two years ago, we took a major step in complementing our traditional energy portfolio when the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation awarded a major contract for the construction of four new 1,400 megawatt nuclear power stations."(QNA)